Transcript
Okay, good morning. *Boker tov*. Sorry for the delay. *Baruch Hashem*, we had a *bris* this morning. Big *mazel tov* to the Carmelis on their son David. What a way to spend *Taanis Esther* with a *bris*. So again, I apologize for the delay, but it was for a *simcha*. Very grateful to our *parsha* sponsors for the series for this year, Becky and Avi Katz and family, memory of Dr., in memory of David Grossman, *l'ilui nishmas Dovid ben Menachem Manish*. Also this morning, *shiur* is sponsored by Amy and Michael Tarlow, in commemoration of Michael's father's first *Yahrtzeit*, *Yechezkel Aharon ben Chaim Meir*, a very special man, had the privilege of knowing him. And, lastly, a reminder, we are still in the midst of our global campaign. We are only 50% of the way there. Someone could write a check for the other 50% right now, you'll never hear about it again until next year. But unless someone's raising their hand to write that check, if you're a member of BRS, you're more than doing your part. If you're not a member of BRS, please give, give generously if you enjoy, if you benefit. If you are enriched, if you're uplifted, if you're inspired, don't just send me nice emails, don't just say nice things, but actually give something nice in order to help us continue to teach and promote Torah.*Parshas Ki Sisa* page 484 in the Artscroll Stone *Chumash*. *Vayedaber Hashem el Moshe leimor*. God spoke to Moshe. *Ki sisa es rosh Bnei Yisrael lifkudeihem*. When you take a census of the Jewish people, how do you take a census? We don't count by name. Why is that? There's an entire big discussion, a big *sugya* about that question. We use different *psukim*. Which *psukim*? Where do we have the tradition? But we don't identify or count by name. Brings with it an *ayin hara*. *Dovid HaMelech* maybe was the exception. How do we count? With *machatzis hashekel*. Everybody gives a half *shekel*. Through the contribution, you see something powerful by the way. You know what makes you count? When you give. When you give, you're counted. If you don't give, talk is cheap. Giving speaks loudly. So, *emor me'at v'asei harbei*. The words, the compliments, they're lovely, they're amazing, they're nice, they're gratifying. They give tremendous *chizuk*. But you see, what makes you count? What makes you count is when you give. What makes you count is when you give. *Venasnu ish kofer nafsho*. *Venasnu* is a palindrome. It works both ways because when you give, you receive. *Kofer nafsho bifkod osam v'lo yihyeh bahem negef bifkod osam*. *Zeh yitnu kol ha'over al hapekudim, machatzis hashekel*. And how much do you give? We mentioned this every year. We do not give efficiently. One *shekel* each would be a very efficient way to give and to count. If everyone gives one *shekel*, then you count what you have and you know the number of people there are. Instead, we introduce math. By giving a half *shekel*, all of a sudden there's math, an equation that you have to do. So why not give a full *shekel*? Why give half a *shekel*? We've shared many times the insight. None of us are complete, none of us are whole, none of us are full on our own. We're each a half. And it's only when we combine and complement the other that we can become whole. So when we contribute, we need to know that we aren't all it. We aren't everything. We're not complete, we're not whole, we're not a finished product, but rather we're only a half. We are a work in progress. And whatever invaluable role we play in the community, whatever contribution we make to the community, we're only making a partial contribution to the community, and we require the complement, supplement of the other members and leaders of the community.Why don't we make a *bracha*? Do we make a *bracha* on this *mitzvah*? Today, tomorrow, on your way in or out, you may have seen the bowls for the *zecher l'machatzis hashekel*. Very important to point out. We know in the month of *Adar*, we don't actually give a *machatzis hashekel*. That *mitzvah* is not in force without a *Beis HaMikdash*. We give what we call a *zecher*. We commemorate, it's a *minhag*. It commemorates the practice of the *machatzis hashekel*. It's very important to distinguish between the two, not to suggest or imply that what we're doing is the *mitzvah* itself. Do you make a *bracha*? Today it's a *minhag*, certainly you don't make a *bracha* on the *minhag*. But when the *machatzis hashekel* was given, when everyone made their contribution, *ha'oshir lo yarbeh v'hadal lo yamit*. It doesn't matter if you're very wealthy, you can't give a lot. The only appeal ever where they said everyone has to give the same. Only appeal in the history of the Jewish people, where the wealthy were not encouraged or pushed to give more, and the poor couldn't get away with giving less. Everyone had to give the same amount because it wasn't about, it wasn't about the amount raised, it was about maximum participation. It was about everybody doing their part. It was about everybody being counted by everybody giving. And those monies were used for the communal, the communal sacrifices in the *Beis HaMikdash* in the *Mishkan*. So was there a *bracha* that was recited? So the *Teshuvos HaRashba* quotes the *Teshuvos HaRashba chelek aleph, siman Yud Ches*, *ein mevarhin al mitzvas machatzis hashekel*. You do not make a *bracha* on this *mitzvah*. Why not? When it was in fact a full-fledged *mitzvah*, we make a *bracha* when we put *tefillin* on. We're going to make a *bracha* when we hear the *Megillah* tonight. Why don't you make a *bracha* when you do this *mitzvah* of *machatzis hashekel*? So the *Rashba* says no *bracha*. Why? *Kare ein nosnim klum mishelahem ela kol m'shebaruch k'dechsiv v'chi mi ani u'mi ami ki ne'etzor koach l'hisnadev kazos*. You think you're giving of your own? When you give, you're just passing off what really belonged to Hashem all along. We're simply stewards on his money. So you don't make a *bracha* as if you're giving of your own. That would suggest this belongs to me, this is mine, and I'm giving, I'm sharing it with another. Says the *Rashba*, it's not yours. All that we have is from Hashem. It's all on loan from Hashem. We're simply stewards of it and therefore you don't make a *bracha*. However, the *Perush Tefillos u'Brachos l'Rabbi Yehuda bar Yakar* disagrees with the *Rashba*. And he writes, quote, *V'nireh kamohu be'zman she'Beis HaMikdash kayam, hayu nosnim machatzis hashekel u'mevarchin asher kidshanu b'mitzvosav v'tzivanu la'aseis machatzis hashekel*. Yes, all that we have is on loan from Hashem, but the bottom line is, we are commanded to give it in this circumstance and we are fulfilling a *mitzvah*. And when we have a *maaseh mitzvah*, an act of a *mitzvah* that we do, we make a *bracha*. So maybe a *bracha* should be recited on it. But these are things to keep in mind, not necessarily the *machlokes* about *bracha*, but the deeper significance of the *machatzis hashekel*. So on your way out, or tonight or tomorrow, when we fulfill the *minhag*. And again, don't use the words, \"I'm giving a *machatzis hashekel*.\" \"I'm fulfilling the *mitzvah* of *machatzis hashekel*.\" The *Mishnah Berurah* points out, the *poskim* are very clear, a person has to articulate it is *zecher*. It is commemorating. It is not in fact the *mitzvah*, the *mitzvah* itself. But we're all doing our part. A small contribution, it's only when we combine with another that we can become whole. Isolated, apart, alone, none of us are complete. We are all a journey. That's why actually two weeks ago's *parsha* in *Truma*, the *Kli Yakar* points out the dimensions of the *aron*, which represents Torah, were fractions, they weren't whole. Why? Some *keilim* dimensions are whole numbers, others are fractions. Because Torah, you're never done. You're never a finished product. You're always a work in progress. So therefore it's a fraction, it's a part of, it's not complete. Similarly, the *machatzis hashekel*. I don't completely make a contribution, run the *Mishkan*, can take responsibility or get credit for a *karban* of the *tzibur*. It's only in combination with others, it's only when we complement and care to come together that we complete one another, that we can become whole. *Perek Lamed, Pasuk Yud Tes*. Moving right along. We have the, we're introduced to the *kiyor*. *V'asisa kiyor nechoshes v'chano nechoshes l'rochtzah v'nasata oso bein Ohel Moed u'vein ha'mizbeach v'nasata shama mayim*. What was in the *kiyor*? The *kiyor* was made of copper, base was copper, was put between the *Ohel Moed* and the *mizbeach*. It meant the *kohanim* had to pass it on the way to the *mizbeach*. Before a *karban* could be offered, they had to see the *kiyor*. What was the base of the *kiyor* was made out of? Copper. Who gave this copper? Who donated this copper? So the contribution of the women. What was the copper? What did this formally serve as, the copper that they donated? They formally served as the mirrors. We've spoken about before, so I won't elaborate now. I want to get to the end of the *parsha*. Last week we covered a lot, the first half of the *parsha*, we never get to the end, so we'll work a little bit backwards today. But we know that the mirror bases *Moshe Rabbeinu* objected, he was repulsed by. He said they have no place. These are instruments of vanity. This is what women used to beautify themselves. This is how they made themselves attractive to their husband. This has no place in the holy *Mishkan*. And Hashem said this is the most beloved and sacred to me. This reflects Jewish continuity. This reflects Jewish optimism and positivity. When the men were ready to give up, a world that was not worth bringing children into, the women said, \"Uh-uh, we have faith Hashem will turn things around once again.\" There is a bright future for our people and it's worth reuniting, and it's worth bringing children into this world. I've said it many times. The greatest Jewish population explosion took place when and where? Right after the war in the DP camps. An explosion of a birth of Jewish children. After all they had gone through, they had every right to give up, not want to bring children into such a heinous world. And yet, that's Jewish faith, that's Jewish optimism. Some of us are only here because of that optimism they showed to yet have a child, have another child, create a continuity. *Kadosh Baruch Hu* says these copper mirrors, they're not instruments of vanity, they're instruments of optimism, positivity, faith, and of Jewish continuity itself. Rav Soloveitchik has a different interpretation. He says about these, about the mirror on the base of the *kiyor*, and he says, before you can go to the *mizbeach* and bring a sacrifice, you got to look in the mirror. The mirror is not just an instrument of vanity, the mirror is an instrument of honesty. Too many people fool themselves and kid themselves. We lie to ourselves and we rationalize to ourselves. You can't look in a funny mirror, and you can't look in a mirror that makes you look 20 pounds lighter and 20 years younger, and you're going to pay extra for the mirror that makes you look the way you want to look. The mirror shows you the way you look. You ever post a picture in your family WhatsApp? Somebody looks at it and says, \"Och, take that picture down. I hate the way I look in that picture.\" Say, \"I hate to break it to you. That's the way you look.\" It's not the way you look in the picture, that's the way you look. Mirror doesn't lie. The picture doesn't lie. That's the way you look. So on the way to the *mizbeach* to bring the *karban*, it's got to be sincere, it's got to be genuine, it's got to be authentic. It can't be based on the version of yourself you wish you looked like. It has to be based on the version that reflects reality, who we really are. Introspection, self-reflection, honesty, and *cheshbon hanefesh*, they're all part of the process on the way to bringing that *karban*. We have to be real, we have to be honest with ourselves. What happens then? *V'rachatzu Aharon u'vanav mimenu es yedeihem v'es ragleihem*. Aaron and his sons wash in that basin, in that laver. What do they wash? Their hands and their feet. *B'vo'am el Ohel Moed yirchatzu mayim v'lo yamusu o b'gishtam el ha'mizbeach l'shareis l'haktir isheh la'Hashem*. When they come in, they wash their hands so that they do not die. And the question is today, we imitate. Today, we imitate this practice. Excuse me, when do we imitate this practice? Every morning when we wake up. *Negel Vasser*. Today, a minor fast day, even today, *Taanis Esther*. A lot to say about *Taanis Esther*, but by the time most people listen to the *parsha* class, it will be after Purim, so I won't take the time. But today is not a sad fast day. You have to know what the *avodah* of today is. So for 30 seconds, the *Rosh* writes, you can't have a fast day before a holiday. Normally, the day before a holiday, we don't say *tachanun*, we don't say *hespedim*, and here you have *Taanis Esther*, which was instituted to be the day *davka* before the holiday. It seems incongruous. And *Mincha* today, we'll read *vayechal*, we'll read the *haftorah*, but we won't say *tachanun* because it's *erev* a *yom tov* of Purim. So how could we have a fast day on *erev* Purim? Makes no sense. And the *Rosh* asks several other questions, but his answer to it all is, unlike other fast days, which are sad and somber, which reflect destruction and devastation, which are meant to motivate *teshuva*. This fast day is part of the holiday of Purim. How do you celebrate Purim? So tonight and tomorrow, we know how we'll celebrate. But what precipitated Purim? *Leich knos es kol haYehudim v'tzumu alai*. Go gather everyone and fast. If you want to be able to sit at a *seudah*, you can't just observe part of Purim. You don't just get to have the part where you drink and you eat and you give and you get gifts and *matanos la'evyonim* and you hear the *Megillah*. You have to, the complete package includes not just the celebration, but what enabled or empowered or drove the celebration was the Jewish unity and the fact that we fasted, we came together. Today is a day of great Jewish unity. It's not a sad fast, it's a happy fast, the *Rosh* writes. It's a happy fast that we're displaying that once again, we're coming together to care about our people, to daven for our people, and to hope for our people. So, we wash our hands every morning, even on a minor fast, we wash *Negel Vasser*. And the *Rashba*, second *Rashba* of the day, *chelek aleph, siman kuf tzadi aleph*, writes the reason for *netilas yadayim shacharis*. We have a *machlokes rishonim*, the *Mishnah Berurah* brings it down. Is it because *yadayim askaniyos heim*, our hands are very active and busy while we sleep? So maybe we scratched our head, maybe we scratched our back, maybe we touched our feet, maybe our hands went someplace which would require us to wash our hands before we daven. Is that why we wash our hands in the morning? And if that's the reason, what if you sleep with gloves? If you sleep with gloves and you take the gloves off in the morning, you don't have to worry about *yadayim askaniyos heim*. Do you still have to wash *Negel Vasser*? Can you learn Torah or say a *bracha* even before you washed your hands? So the *Rashba* gives a different reason. *Sheyesh lo l'adam l'kadesh yadav kodem she'yaschil l'avod es ha'Borei yisborach k'kohen shehayah b'mikdash shemekadesh yadav min hakiyor kodem avodah*. *Chevra*, every morning we wake up, we're like a *kohen*. We are a *mamleches kohanim*. The same way that the priest are the religious leaders and teachers of a particular people, we the Jewish people are the *mamleches kohanim*. We are the priests and the teachers and the religious leaders of the world. That when we wake up in the morning, whether you're a rabbi, whether you're a *mechanech*, whether you're a *rebbetzin*, doesn't matter who you are and what you do, what your profession, what your career, whether you're retired. Our mission and our mandate, our charge in this world is to be the *kohanim* of the world, the *mamleches kohanim*. So just like the *kohanim* in the *Mishkan* would wash their hands before they began the *avodah*, we wash our hands every morning *Negel Vasser* in order to condition ourselves, to realize I'm a *kohen*. You're not getting the first *aliyah*, don't get too excited. You can't *duchan*, don't get too excited. You're not a *kohen*, but you're a *kohen*, you're part of the *mamleches kohanim*. You're part of the nation of priests that when you go to work and when you go to the supermarket, when you go to the gym, and when you encounter and engage the world, we are the priests of the world. And how do we remind them and prepare ourselves? Just like the *kohen* was *mekadesh* his hands by washing them before the *avodah*, our life is an *avodah*. And the world is our *Mishkan*. And our *avodah* is to make a *kiddush Hashem*, to be *marbeh k'vod Shamayim*. Our *avodah* is to bring everyone closer to Hashem and to reveal His name, to give Him a place, a *dirah b'tachtonim*. And before our *avodah*, like the *kohen*, we the *mamleches kohanim* are *mekadesh*, we wash *Negel Vasser*, we wash our hands. So the *Machatzis HaShekel*, a great name for this week's *parsha* and for today's *minhag*, writes, *sheaf al gav sheha'kohen hayah mikadesh gam es raglav min ha'kiyor*. So we wash *Negel Vasser* in the morning. Why don't you have to limber up, stretch, and not only wash your hands in the sink, why don't you have to lift your feet and put them in the sink too? We'd all be in so much better shape. Our hamstrings would be nice and loose. You imagine? If you had to lift your foot, put it on the vanity, hang it over the sink, take the cup, the *Negel Vasser* cup, and wash over your foot, not only over your hands three times. I guess you do your feet one by one. It'd be pretty impressive if you could do both at once. Your feet, you do one by one. But imagine, imagine the calisthenics, the stretching that would be needed every morning. So why don't we, why aren't we *mekadesh raglav*? If we're imitating what this *pasuk* says, and the *pasuk* says, *v'rachatzu Aharon u'vanav mimenu es yedeihem v'es ragleihem*, why don't we *mekadesh raglav*? *M'kol makom ein notlin rak es hayadayim b'shacharis l'heyos b'domah l'kohen, v'lo l'heyos shaveh b'chol shtus l'kidush yadayim v'raglayim shel ha'kohen*. *Machatzis HaShekel* says, \"You know why? 'Cause you're not a *kohen*.\" We are like *kohanim*. We're similar to *kohanim*. We have a mission and a mandate to follow, to *avodah* of our lives, but to not confuse, to not get too high on ourselves, \"No, you're not a *kohen*.\" So we imitate but not completely. *Machatzis HaShekel*, a half imitation. We wash our hands to get ready for the *avodah* called life, but not our feet. But the *Teshuvos Rav Pe'alim*, *chelek beis*, the *Ben Ish Chai*, gives a different reason in the name of the *Yafeh Sha'ah*. *Maduah b'emes ein notlin es raglayim b'chol yom? Ha'rei l'chora yesh l'damose l'kohen lifnei asi'as avodah. V'keivan she'ha'kohen hayah notel yadayim v'raglayim maduah einenu osim k'mohem?* If we're imitating, then why not go all the way? Not just wash your hands, wash your feet. So he says, *ki b'raglayim ne'echaz ha'klipos chitzonim yoser m'b'yadayim. V'lachen l'tokef achizasom ein lanu koach l'dchosom al yedei netilah b'mayim. V'rak ha'kohanim b'zechus avodas kedushas ha'mikdash yesh lahem koach l'dchosom mei'ragleihem*. Our feet represent much more engagement with this world. Our feet are what give us independence. Our feet are how we walk around the world, experience the world, absorb the world. Our feet are responsible for our business. You remember *Avraham* wouldn't allow the angels into his tent before they washed, their what? Their feet. Their feet was their busyness, their activity, their feeling or false sense of independence. So in the *Mikdash*, the *kohanim* had the energy, the power, the spiritual power to be able to wash that impurity, that contamination from their feet. So it says, *v'rachatzu Aharon u'vanav es yedeihem v'es ragleihem*. *Erev Shabbos kodesh*. So we don't have that ability. The best we can do is cleanse and prepare and elevate our hands. Our feet, we don't have that ability. When do we have the ability, says the *Ben Ish Chai*? When do we have the ability? On *Erev Shabbos*. On *Erev Shabbos*. *Ki b'zechus ha'Shabbos yecholim l'hagin l'dchos ha'chitzonim gam min ha'raglayim*. Because on *Erev Shabbos*, when we're going to transition from this world to *me'ein olam haba*, we're going to enter the sanctity, not in space, but in time called *Shabbos*. Also in this week's *parsha*, we'll get to in a moment. So the *halacha* is, we say it by *Milikan*, we have an obligation *Erev Shabbos*, *rochatz panav, yadav v'raglav*. We wash our hands and our feet. *Panav, yadav, v'raglav*, our face, our hands, and our feet. *Shlomo* and his, say, it doesn't just mean we wash, it means we purify. Our face, we put on our *Shabbos panim*, *Pnei Shabbos b'kabalah*. Our hands, we elevate our hands. And *Erev Shabbos*, as we're extracting ourselves from the busyness and the materialism and the conquest of this week, and we're entering a passive place of faith and of intimate rendezvous with Hashem, now we can wash not only our hands, but also our feet. And that's why *panav, yadav v'raglav* on *Erev Shabbos*, when it says to wash them, it doesn't just mean wash them physically, doesn't just mean take a shower or a bath on *Erev Shabbos*, wash them physically. We spoke about this in turn Friday into *Erev Shabbos*. *Vayomder HaChacham Reb Shlomo Meyer*, but it means spiritually. *Panav, yadav v'raglav*, a person should have mindfulness. Mindfulness in the shower, mindfulness when you're getting dressed for *Shabbos*, mindfulness when you're cutting your nails for *Shabbos*. We went through it all in *Vayomder HaChacham*. Each of these acts of getting ready for *Shabbos* are further acts of elevating out of this world and going to another place. Then *Havdalah* is coming back out of that place and transitioning back into this world, reentry. *Shabbos* can't just happen on its own. *La'asos es haShabbos*, our *parsha* says. You have to make *Shabbos*, you have to create *Shabbos*, *la'asos*. When the sun goes down on Friday, ask the first-go kid, it's *Shabbos*. That's it, it's over. That happens automatically, it happens on its own. But the feeling, the *pnimius*, the energy of *Shabbos*, that that depends on our mindfulness, our consciousness, our effort. So you don't just take a shower, yell and scream, \"Did you take your shower?\" \"It's your turn.\" \"Did you leave any hot water for me?\" *Erev Shabbos* is not just a time that you're going through the physical motions. Did you shop? Did you cook? Did you set the table? Did you set the *lichter*? Each of these acts has a holy, holy mindful invitation opportunity. We can elevate, get out of the *vach*, get out of the weekday, the weekday that's filled with to-do lists and tasks and trauma and anxiety and worry and fear and disappointment and failure. We have the ability to climb step by step out of that weekday and to go into a place called *Shabbos*, *me'ein olam haba*, to immerse ourselves in a place where there are no to-do, there are no tasks, there is no technology. All there is is to be with ourselves, the best version of ourselves, the peaceful, tranquil, serene version of ourselves, to be with our family, to be with the *Ribono shel Olam*. So how do you get there? It doesn't happen like that. You have to make the effort. And the effort is *panav, yadav v'raglav*, a person has to wash. So we imitate every day we wake up, we wash *Negel Vasser*, our hands. We engage the world as the *mamleches kohanim*. But come Friday afternoon, we leave the weekday and we enter a place called *Shabbos Kodesh*. And we do that by being *rochatz panav, yadav v'raglav*, not just a shower, not just a good shower, but it means a good spiritual shower. We're trying to purge whatever contaminants. We looked at the wrong things, we heard the wrong things, we've said the wrong things, we pursued the wrong things. How do I cleanse myself of that? That's why many of the, many men, I got in trouble last week in the *parsha* class. I said, \"When a Yid puts on *tefillin*,\" I got a whole email. \"A Yid doesn't put on *tefillin*. Men put on *tefillin*.\" Half the Yidden don't wear *tefillin*. So when a man goes to the *mikvah* on *Erev Shabbos*, I don't want to get in trouble. It's *Taanis Esther*, I'm just going to keep going. So when a, when a man goes to the *mikvah* on *Erev Shabbos*, it's also being *rochatz panav, yadav v'raglav*. These, to to be able to grow, it doesn't happen on its own, it takes, it takes effort. It takes effort. Okay, let's keep going. I said I was going to do the end of the *parsha*, so we're going to work a little bit backwards. I don't want to run out of time like I usually do, so we'll work a little bit backwards. Skip to the end of the *parsha*. It's okay? If you read the *Megillah l'mafreia*, you're not *yotzei*, if you read the *Megillah* out of order. But if you learn the *parsha* out of order, it doesn't say you're not *yotzei*. It's still a *parsha* class. So we're going to go out of order. Stick with me. Keep you on your toes. Go to the end of the *parsha*. *Perek Lamed Daled, pasuk chaf tes*. 34:29, page 514, the last page of our *parsha*. *Vayehi b'redes Moshe meiHar Sinai u'shnei luchos ha'eidus b'yad Moshe b'ridto min ha'har*. We know our *parsha* has the terrible *cheit ha'eigel*, the terrible failure of the Jewish people. Unfaithfulness and infidelity in that moment of great union with Hashem. And Moshe then is invited back up, 40 days, 40 nights. He doesn't eat, he doesn't drink. He gets the second set of *luchos* and he comes down. And this time when he comes down, what happens? *Lo yada ki karan or panav b'dabro ito*. He doesn't even realize it, that the skin of his face became radiant when Hashem spoke to him. What does that mean? The skin of his face became radiant when Hashem spoke to him. *Karan or*. So we know *Rashi* tells us, where did this radiance come from? The *medrash* says, *Moshe Rabbeinu kimel es karnayim hod al yedei she'he'evir rosho meiha'dio she'nishta'er b'kulmus she'kasav bo Torah*. He had a quill with ink that he wrote and transcribed the Torah that Hashem dictated to him, but there was some ink left over. And with the ink that left over, it became the rays of light. You know, Middle Age, Renaissance art that depicted Jews with rays of light that got misinterpreted that Jews have horns. *Moshe Rabbeinu*, the rays of light that came out of his head, misinterpreted that Jews have horns. Where did those rays of light come from, the *karan or*? That came from the extra ink. Now the question is, extra ink? Where did the quill come from with the ink? The *Ribono Shel Olam*. *Ribono Shel Olam* is precise. He's perfect. He doesn't miscalculate. There's no extra ink. There's no extra ink in the cartridge left over. There's never extra ink in the cartridge left over. There's always not enough ink in the cartridge. But the *Ribono Shel Olam* gets it exactly right. *Ve'ch'l'yodea m'techila kama dio yaspik l'ksivas haTorah kula she'lakach yoser mei'ha'tzorech*. *Kadosh Baruch Hu* didn't know exactly how much ink that he ran out? So the *Rema miPano* in his *Asarah Ma'amaros* answers, *she'nishta'er d'yo mima she'kasav alef ze'ira b'teivas Vayikra*. Where was the extra ink from? *Kadosh Baruch Hu* didn't miscalculate, but he pivoted, he made a change. What change? The book of *Vayikra* opens with a wrestling match between Hashem and Moshe. Moshe says, \"Don't write *Vayikra*.\" *Vayikra* sounds like you called me special. It's going to, it's going to inflate my ego. It's going to give me honor I don't deserve. Moshe is the most humble of all people. Write *vayikar* like with Bilam. Write that you happened upon me. It was chance, it was random that you made me the leader. *Kadosh Baruch Hu* says, \"Are you crazy? I'm the *Ribono Shel Olam*, the creator of the world. I recruited you, I chose you. *Vayikra*, I called to you. Each of us has a calling.\" Moshe, people will think life is random and chance. They need to know that just like I called you, each of them has a calling. They went back and forth and back and forth, they wrestled until they compromised. And what was the compromise? An *alef ze'ira*. *Alef ze'ira*. The *Medrash* says this is the reason we have a *minhag*. Children begin learning Torah where? From *Sefer Vayikra*. Why? Because the *alef ze'ira*, *ze'ira* means small. The *alef ze'ira*. Moshe says, \"Fine,\" he gives in. You can write the *alef* of *Vayikra*, make it small, so I can read *vayikar*. So from that expression that demonstration of humility that the *alef* was *ze'ira*, that's *Vayikra*. That's maybe where the extra *dio*, the extra ink came from. Maybe that's where the extra ink came from. Just to tell you *ze'ira* connected to Purim. It's how you have a great Purim for it. Rav Weinberg *shlita* is here. Was here for the *bris* with the *sandek* this morning. So I heard from him the following. It's from many *Chassidishe sforim* say. The *mitzvah chayav inish livsumei b'Puraya ad d'lo yada*, the *mitzvah* to drink on Purim until you can no longer distinguish between *Haman* and *Mordechai*. It's a big topic for another time. But the Gemara then tells a story, *kam Rabbah v'shachteih l'Rav Zeira*. Rabbah got up and he drank too much at the Purim *seudah* and he *shachteih*, he killed Rav Zeira. The next day he davened for him and Rav Zeira came back to life. Fast forward a year later, Rabbah says, \"Hey, remember the Purim *seudah*? It was so *geshmak*. It's *gevaldig*. Where are we having it this year? By you or by me?\" Rav Zeira looks at him and he says, \"It's not every year that a *nisracheish nisa*. It's not every year that a miracle is going to happen. Let me know *Shushan Purim* how your *Purim seudah* was. I'm not having *seudah* with you this year. Not every year a miracle happens.\" And the *Rishonim* all have a debate. Why did the Gemara bring the story after *Rava* came to teach the din? *Rava* says *chayav inish livsumei*. *Rava* teaches you have to get drunk on Purim, you have to lose yourself on Purim until you can no longer tell the difference between *Haman* and *Mordechai*. Then we have a story, *kam Rabbah*, not *Rava*, *Rabbah*, he kills Rav Zeira. Rabbah davens for him, Rav Zeira comes back to life, and he says next year you're on your own, we're not having *seudah* together. Some *Rishonim* say why did the Gemara tell the story? In order to tell you that the din doesn't apply. You see what happens if you drink too much. *Rava*, it was a nice idea, nice thought. Don't do it. Don't drink too much, look what happens. Others say no, you see he wanted to still have a *seudah* the next year, he was going to drink again. You see the din still applies. And the *Rama* quotes from the *Rambam* that the proper practice is to drink enough that you get sleepy, you take a nap. While you're sleeping, *ad d'lo yada*, you don't know the difference between *Haman* and *Mordechai*. Others are more *machmir* and *mehader* in this *mitzvah*. They want to be *mekayem ad d'lo yada bishleimusa*. Whatever your *minhag*, whatever your practice, I said it's a big topic for another time. However, what does it mean *kam Rabbah v'shachteih l'Rav Zeira*? So *sfarim ha'kedoshim* say, you know, every one of us has a *Zeira* in front of us. We see the small part of who we are. I'm a small *yid*. *Bin a gornisht*. I'm a nothing, I'm a nobody. And then there's the *Rabbah*. There's the greatness in us. There's the possibility of greatness in us. There's the potential, there's who we could be, there's who we're meant to be. When Purim comes, *kam Rabbah, shachteih l'Rav Zeira*. The *Rabbah* in us has to *shecht* the *Zeira* in us, the *ze'ira* in us. The big part of who we are, the part that we're capable of, the bigness in us, the greatness in us, the possibility in us, the potential in us, has to *shecht* the *Zeira*, the *ze'ira* in us, the smallness in us, the part that thinks that we're inadequate, and consequential, invisible, incapable, in, in not of any value. The *kam Rabbah v'shachteih l'Rav Zeira*. We have to destroy the *ze'ira* in us. So the *alef ze'ira*, maybe that's where the extra ink came from. *Moshe Rabbeinu* says, \"Don't write *Vayikra*, write *vayikar*.\" They compromised, they made the *alef* small. The *Peschel of Krakow* in the *Sefer Chanukas HaTorah*, this is all quoted in the *Otzar Plos HaTorah*, gives a different answer. Where did the *dio* come from? *Mima shehayah tzorech l'hiyos kosuv shmo shel Moshe Rabbeinu b'parshas Tetzaveh v'Nimcha*. Last week's *parsha* should have included Moshe's name, but it didn't. Why? Because in our *parsha* he says, *mecheini na misifrecha*, erase me from your book. Forgive the people, forgive them for the *cheit ha'eigel*. If not, erase me from your book. Or *mima she'kasuv v'ha'ish Moshe anav b'lo yud*. It says Moshe was humble, there's no *yud*. So a lot of suggestions where did this, where did this extra ink come from. The *Sefer HaSinai* quotes from another source. The Gemara in *Bava Basra* tells us, *Moshe Rabbeinu kasav es kol haTorah b'dio chutz mi'shmonah psukim achronim*. Moshe wrote the whole Torah, except for the last eight *psukim*. The last eight *psukim*, which Moshe wrote with his tears, not with ink. So therefore, because Moshe wrote the last eight *psukim*, which tell what happens after he dies, he wrote them with tears, not ink, therefore there was ink left over, maybe that is the extra ink, maybe that's the extra ink. Rav Soloveitchik has a different interpretation. Listen to what the Rav says. *Zokt der Rav*, why did Moshe develop this radiance only after bestowal of the second *luchos*? How come when he came down the first time from the mountain, he didn't have horns, he didn't have light shining out? Why was it only the second time he came down? You know, *lahavdil elef alfei havdalos*. Again, for a long time, you learn the *parsha*, what is *karan or*? What does that even mean? How do you project rays of light? What does that look like? But now you drive down 95, is it 95, the turnpike? And you see the Hard Rock, the guitar at night, projects the light up in the sky. *Lahavdil elef alfei havdalos*, and even more. But we can imagine, we have the ability to project light. So *Moshe Rabbeinu* comes down from the mountain, and the people see him, but they don't see a human being, they don't see a simple face. They see somebody whose face is radiating, radiating this light. Why didn't that happen the first time? The first time he came down with the first *luchos*. Where was the light show then? The answer, said the Rav, lies in the difference between the *Torah shebichtav* and *Torah shebaal peh*, the written Torah and the oral Torah. In receiving the written laws represented in the first *luchos*, Moshe acted as a messenger in delivering them to the people. The radiance on Moshe's face, however, suggests that after when he received the second לוחות luchos and the oral law, Moshe absorbed the Torah into the essence of his personality. He now personified the Torah and in effect had been transformed into a living ספר תורה Sefer Torah. This happened only on יום כיפור Yom Kippur, when he ascended with the second set of לוחות luchos and received the תורה שבעל פה Torah Sheb'al Peh. True identification with the Torah, which leads to קדושת הגוף kedushas haguf, cannot be reached through the תורה שבכתב Torah Shebichtav, but only through the תורה שבעל פה Torah Sheb'al Peh. The radiance that emanated from Moshe was due to the קדושת הגוף kedushas haguf. A תלמיד חכם talmid chacham, somebody who engages with תורה שבעל פה Torah Sheb'al Peh is is transforms themselves.The opening פסוק pasuk of תהלים Tehillim, the opening פרק perek of תהלים Tehillim, נו nu what does it say? ובתורתו Uvesoraso, כי אם בתורת השם חפצו ובתורתו יהגה יומם ולילה ki im b'Toras Hashem cheftzo u'vesoraso yehge yomam v'lailah. בתורת השם חפצו B'Toras Hashem cheftzo, a person whose חפץ cheifetz, whose desire, whose longing is for the תורת השם Toras Hashem, then what happens, once they engage it, they learn it, once they find their place, שים חלקנו בתורתך sim chelkeinu b'sorasecha, a person makes and finds their חלק chelek in the תורה שבעל פה Torah Sheb'al Peh, their interpretation, their analysis, their חזרה chazara, their memory, they're making it part of who they are, they're absorbing it, they're living it, they're being transformed, not just to somebody who learns Torah, to becoming what? A בן ben or a בת תורה bas Torah.You could be a person who learns Torah is different than being a בן ben or בת תורה bas Torah. To learn it in such a way, to engage it in such a way that it becomes part of who you are. It's the filter through which you see and experience the world. It is what informs and inspires every decision, every priority, every value, every part of our life. So to become one with Torah is altogether different than to be learning Torah, to be learning Torah. So the first לוחות luchos represent תורה שבכתב Torah Shebichtav. תורה שבכתב Torah Shebichtav is something separate that we learn. It's a book, it's a part, it's separate, and we learn it. תורה שבעל פה Torah Sheb'al Peh, that becomes who we are. Becomes part of our very life. תורה שבעל פה Torah Sheb'al Peh, to engage, to study, to learn תורה שבעל פה Torah Sheb'al Peh, becomes part of who we are. קדושת הגוף Kedushas haguf, it transforms us, makes us into a בן תורה ben Torah or a בת תורה bas Torah, our relationship with תורה שבעל פה Torah Sheb'al Peh, with the rabbinic Torah community, with the with the ongoing, with the ongoing development of Torah learning and the ongoing development of Torah living.I reserve the right to use this another time. But last week I was listening to a podcast, a brilliant, brilliant person, non-Jew. And he talked about the distinction between, he used the word reading, I'm going to replace it with the word learning. You can learn for information and you can learn for transformation. There are two ways that you can read or two ways that you can learn. You could read or learn for information or you could read or learn for transformation. We'll develop this more another time. I think tragically in our schools too much we are teaching to read for information. Memorize, spit back, and we're not transforming. So we have generations now of young people who can spit back incredible amounts of information, who don't sleep at night because their ישיבות yeshivos and girl schools and seminaries are are unbelievably rigorous and testing and they have to memorize incredible amounts of information, but are we teaching to learn for information or are we teaching to learn for transformation?When do you get radiance and rays of light? When you learn for transformation. When you read for information, you look the same as you did before. Because you just it's information, cerebral, stays above the neck. We got to read for transformation, that it transforms who you are. רבי יהודה בר נחמן Rebbe Yehuda bar Nachman said that Moshe was writing the Torah, a little ink was left on his pen, which he pressed over his face. The leftover ink was the source of his radiance. As much as a גדול בתורה gadol b'Torah writes and presents his ideas publicly, most of his Torah remains unspoken. He's unable to pass all that he knows on to others. This is in accordance with what רבי אליעזר Rebbe Eliezer said to his students, the גמרא Gemara in סנהדרין Sanhedrin. He says, למדתי הרבה lamadeti harbei, but the Torah I learned from my teachers is akin to a dog lapping at the sea. The Torah that Moshe was unable to pass on to others, the greatness that remained with him is what Moshe's face is what gave Moshe's face its radiance. The הלכה halacha states that every letter on a Torah scroll must be completely surrounded by blank parchment to symbolize that as much as written in the scroll, there's far more Torah that's not given to in writing. However, a תלמיד חכם talmid chacham or a teacher, you know, for one hour of teaching there's four hours of preparation. For one hour of what they communicated, there are endless hours of more that remains inside them. A real גדול בתורה gadol b'Torah, a real תלמיד חכם talmid chacham, not an imposter that you come to the class of. But a real תלמיד חכם talmid chacham, a real teacher, there's so much more depth, and there's so much more knowledge, and there's so much more they have to share. What we see is the tip of the quill. What we see is the little bit of ink. There's a lot of ink that's left over, and that's their radiance. The radiance is how much is still inside them that they've not given over, that is still part of who they are that they haven't shared with the world. That is how the רב Rav understood the קרן אור keren or that emanated from Moshe, דוקא dafka the second לוחות luchos, not the first לוחות luchos. And where did that ink come from? We saw maybe it came from the little אלף aleph, maybe it came from that his name was erased in last week's פרשה parsha, maybe it came from the missing יוד yud in the word עניו anav, maybe it came from the last eight פסוקים psukim of the Torah. And the רב Rav suggests it came from the fact that so much more was inside Moshe. Even though he's רבנו Rabeinu, even though Moshe transmitted the Torah as we know it, there was still so much more inside him that he never gave over. And now the אור החיים פלוס Ohr Hachaim Plus, our Torah moves over to a fascinating other subject. The מדרש Medrash on our פרשה parsha says הטעם שזכה משה רבינו לקרינת אור פניו ha'taam she'zacha Moshe Rabbeinu l'kriyas or panav. Why did Moshe merit this radiance, this light from his face? שהיה שומר ושדכן בין ישראל לשכינה במתן תורה she'haya shomer v'shadchan bein Yisrael l'Shechina b'Matan Torah. He was the שדכן shadchan. What was the, what would happen in מתן תורה Matan Torah? מתן תורה Matan Torah was, the mountain was held over their head like a, like a חופה chuppah. We received the Torah. Who stood under it? The חתן וכלה chosson v'kallah. Who are the חתן וכלה chosson v'kallah? כנסת ישראל והשם Knesses Yisrael v'Hashem, the Jewish people and Hashem. Who was the שדכן shadchan? Every time there's a good couple, there's a שדכן shadchan. Who made the שדך shidduch? Who was the שדכן shadchan? Saw you at Sinai? Adopt a שדכן shadchan? Why you connect? 10k בתי ישראל Batei Yisrael? What's the, which, which service? Who gets the credit? Every, every שדכן shadchan wants the credit. Sometimes you have big מחלוקת machlokes who gets the credit. Multiple people get the credit, it's like nobody got the credit. You gotta get the credit alone. Who, who gets, who was the שדכן shadchan? This is also connected to פורים Purim because the מגילה Megillah says קיימו וקבלו היהודים kimu v'kiblu ha'Yehudim, the Jewish people received, קיימו מה שקיבלו כבר kimu ma she'kiblu kvar. The first time we received it out of coercion, the mountain was held over our head. The second time we received it voluntarily, passionately, enthusiastically. קיימו מה שקיבלו כבר Kimu ma she'kiblu kvar. We spoke about it at שלוש סעודות Shalosh Seudos this past week. So who was the שדכן shadchan? So says the מדרש Medrash, משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu. משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu. ומכאן יש מקור נאמן לשיעור שכר שדכנות לשדכן u'mikan yeish makor ne'eman l'shiur schar shadchanus l'shadchan. And this is the source that the שדכן shadchan gets שדכנות shadchanus. כמו שמצינו בקדוש ברוך הוא שנתן שכר שדכנות למשה רבינו k'mo she'matzinu b'Kadosh Baruch Hu she'nasan schar shadchanus l'Moshe Rabbeinu. כבר כתב בספר תשב\"ץ קטן K'var kasav b'sefer Tashbeitz Katan, נקוט האי כללא בידך כל המנהגים של חתן וכלה ne'kot hai klala b'yadecha kol ha'minhagim shel chosson v'kallah, we learn all the מנהגים minhagim of a wedding from מתן תורה Matan Torah. So this is one of them. שהשם יתברך הראה עצמו כחתן נגד כלה she'Hashem Yisbarach he'erah atzmo k'chosson neged kallah, he was the חתן chosson next to the כלה kallah, כנסת ישראל Knesses Yisrael, we were the כלה kallah. And who was the שדכן shadchan, Moshe, and the שדכן's shadchan's got to get paid. So הלכה halacha, it's actually brought down in שולחן ערוך Shulchan Aruch. Most people think it's some nice thing that שדכנים shadchanim came up with, but it's a הלכה halacha. And it's good an investment in the שלום בית shalom bayis of this couple is to make sure the שדכנות shadchanus is taken care of. There's many, many, many תשובות t'shuvos. There's countless הלכתית halachic responsa about how much do you have to give, what if you didn't give, how long can you still give, who gets if there were multiple people who claimed that they were the שדכנים shadchanim. It's הלכתית halachic literature on the subject. But this is the מקור makor, the source. Moshe was rewarded with this radiance, these rays of light, because he was the שדכן shadchan who introduced the חתן וכלה chosson v'kallah under הר סיני Har Sinai at the end of our פרשה parsha. The מהרי\"ל Maharil writes, ומחיות ערב לגוף ערב, היית שכר שדכנות, שהיה כותב בשלח מכתב ידו, בכל מדינות זרע בסוס נערים, כי כל הארץ מקשיבים לו נשכחים בתוך הספר של איוב. He says, this is the source. מי לנו גדול מהקדוש ברוך הוא, שבכבודו ובעצמו עוסק בשידוכים Mi lanu gadol mei'ha'Kadosh Baruch Hu, she'b'chvodo u'b'atzmo oseik b'shidduchim. That's what Hashem does. Because we know there was a מטרוניתא matronita, she asked רבי יוסי בר חלפתא Rebbe Yossi bar Chalafta. After הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu created the world, it took him only six days. We're nearing on 6,000 years of creation. What's he been doing? He's retired under a palm tree in Boca Raton, sipping pina coladas? What's he been doing, playing shuffleboard? Mahjong? Orly Bird special? What's he doing? So the מדרש Medrash says, what has he been doing? He's מזווג זיווגים mezaveg zivugim. הקדוש ברוך הוא יושב ומזווג זיווגים HaKadosh Baruch Hu yosheiv u'mezaveg zivugim. He's sitting and he's מזווג זיווגים mezaveg zivugim. הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu's making matches. He's a שדכן shadchan. So you see if that's what he's worth his spending his time on, that's worth our spending our time on. וכן היו נוהגים הרבה גדולי ישראל דורותיהם שהיו דבוקים במידותיו של הקדוש ברוך הוא V'chein hayu nohagim harbeh gedolei Yisrael doroseihem she'hayu d'vukim b'middosav shel HaKadosh Baruch Hu. Many גדולי ישראל Gedolei Yisrael, as busy as occupied, preoccupied as they were, as much as was on their plate, as much as they were carrying כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael, they never absolved themselves of getting involved in שדכים shidduchim, of trying to make שדכים shidduchim. Now, also not for now. We've introduced layers and layers and layers and layers and layers of unnecessary obstacles and difficulty and impediments that hurts the חתן chosson and כלה kallah, but also hurts שדכנים shadchanim and makes many of them drop out. Who wants to be so involved at such a level that it's such a pain that it makes it difficult? People don't, whatever, I'm not going to get into it now. But you want to imitate הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu, persevere and break through and follow up because the reward is great because this is what this is what he writes. עד כמה צריך עוד לשמירה בעל השידוכים שלא ימצא בו דבר, ובאמת הדבר נוגע עד נפשו. A person has to be careful not to exaggerate, you have to be precise and accurate, you have to, you have to follow through. Where does the term שדכן shadchan come from? We all know that term. We all know the term, שדך shidduch, שדכים shidduchim, שדכן shadchan, where does, where does שדך shidduch come from? That, that שורש shoresh. Where does it come from? Does it mean together? ש ד ך Shin daled chaf. Where does it come from? We all use that word. Have we ever thought of where it comes from? So listen what he writes. שורש תיבת שדך ושדכן Shoresh teivas shidduch v'shadchan. One possibility is it comes from שקט ומנוחה sheket u'menucha. The ר\"ן Ran on מסכת שבת Maseches Shabbos says, שדך בארמיס מלשון שקט ומנוחה shidduch b'aramis mi'lashon sheket u'menucha. Quiet and peace. Something no שדכן shadchan has. As the פסוק pasuk says in שופטים Shoftim, ותשקוט הארץ vatishkot ha'aretz, and the תרגום Targum there says, ושדכותא ארעא u'sh'duchesa ar'ah. ולכן נקרא זיווג איש ואשה בלשון שדך V'lachein nikra zivug ish v'isha b'lashon shidduch. שהאיש שנמצאת בשקט ומנוחה כשהיא יושבת בבית בעלה She'ha'isha nimtzes b'sheket u'menucha k'she'yosheves b'veis ba'ala. כי תכסיב יתן השם לכם ומצאו מנוחה אשה בית אישה Ki sachsiv yitein Hashem lachem u'mtzo'u menucha ishah beis isha. We wanted to find each other to have peace and quiet, to build a home. So שדכים shidduchim is מלשון שקט mi'lashon sheket. The תרגום Targum on שקט sheket is שדך shidduch. Peace and quiet and serenity and happiness. The בעל המאור Baal HaMaor on מסכת שבת Maseches Shabbos says the word שדך shidduch is מלשון קשירה mi'lashon keshira. כל לשון שדכים מלשון קשירה Kol lashon shidduchim mi'lashon keshira. It means to tie together, to intertwine, to tie the knot. Marriage is tying the knot. So to tie the knot, שדכים shidduchim is literally to tie the knot. That's how the בעל המאור Baal HaMaor understands. The ספר מגיד ישועות מלכו Sefer Magid Yeshuos Malko brings from brings from חסידישע ספרים Chassidishe sfarim, שדכן shadchan is ראשי תיבות rashei teivos, כי שבר דלתות נחושת ki shibar daltos nechoshes, a פסוק pasuk in תהילים פרק קז Tehillim Perek Kuf Zayin. כי שבר דלתות נחושת Ki shibar daltos nechoshes. כי כן הוא מעשיו של שדכן, הוא משקיע עמל רב לשדך ולזווג חתן וכלה Ki chein hu ma'asav shel shadchan, hu mashkia amal rav l'shadech u'l'zaveg chosson v'kallah. You have to break through metal doors. Because in order to make a שדך shidduch, my wife says the joy that you used to feel when a שדך shidduch closed, when a couple got engaged, today is the joy that you have when one couple agrees to go out one time. The effort it takes to persuade, the questions you have to answer, the reference checks, the FBI interrogations, the follow-ups, how many times you have to text and call them before anyone has the courtesy to get back to you, and both sides finally agree, and you have to decide, they can't talk to each other, God forbid, where they're going to meet, or what they're going to do that night, or if they're running late, you have to what it takes to get them to the first date, used to be what it was to get them to the חופה chuppah. כי שבר Ki shibar. So is it a shock and people don't want to engage in it that we have a crisis? This is a crisis of our own making. I could write a book about it. And that's where the word שדכן shadchan comes from. כי שבר דלתות נחושת Ki shibar daltos nechoshes. You got to break through a metal door to get them to go out once. It's also brought down, שגור בפי העולם shagur b'fi ha'olam, שקר דובר כסף נוטל sheker dover kesef notel. שדכן Shadchan is an acronym it stands for שקר דובר sheker dover, speaks falsehood, כסף נוטל kesef notel, and then gets paid well. שדכן Shadchan is an acronym for שקר דובר כסף נוטל sheker dover kesef notel. Speaks lies, gets paid well. See the ספר מאמרי אדמו\"ר הזקן Sefer Ma'amarei Admor Hazaken, from the רבה בעל התניא Rebbe, Baal HaTanya. כל השידוכים נגמרים על ידי שקרים של שדכן ולא על פי האמת Kol ha'shidduchim nigmarim al yedei shkarim d'shadchan v'lo al pi ha'emes. עיין שם שהביא הדברים בדרך סוד Ayin sham she'hevi ha'dvarim b'derech sod. Okay, maybe giving it a positive spin. The ספר בוצינא דנהורא Sefer Butzina D'Nehora, it's to the רבה Rebbe from מזיבוז Mezhibuzh says, כשמתחילים לדבר משידוך הסטרא אחרא עושה כל הפעולות שיבטל ולא יגמר השידוך k'she'maschilim l'daber mi'shidduch, ha'Sitra Achra oseh kol ha'peulos she'yivatel v'lo yigmar ha'shidduch. When a person shows that positive light, the holy light of trying to make a שדך shidduch, the סטרא אחרא Sitra Achra works in the opposite direction. The סטרא אחרא Sitra Achra goes to work in the opposite direction. השדכן שמדבר איזה שקרים בעניין שדך, מזה יש לסטרא אחרא קורת רוח. לאמר שעל ידי זה לא יגמר השדך. וכשנזדמן לפניהם שהשדכן אינו אומר שום דבר שקר בעניין השדך, אני רואה בזה שלא יגמר השדך. Ha'shadchan she'medaber eizeh shkarim b'inyan shidduch, m'zeh yeish l'Sitra Achra koras ruach, lomar she'al yedei zeh lo yigmar ha'shidduch. U'ch'she'nizdaman lifneihem she'ha'shadchan eino omer shum davar sheker b'inyan shidduch, ani ro'eh b'zeh she'lo yigmar ha'shidduch. So there's all kinds of mixed energies involved in in a שדך shidduch. It takes a lot of breakthrough to be able to get there, to be able to get there. So anyway, fascinating. Where does the word come from? Moshe Rabbeinu is the first שדכן shadchan. כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael and Hashem, he gets שדכנות shadchanus. This is the מקור makor for not the מנהג minhag but the הלכה halacha that you have to give שדכנות shadchanus. Where does the word itself שדכן shadchan come from? So the ר\"ן Ran says it comes from שקט ומנוחה sheket u'menucha. The בעל המאור Baal HaMaor says קשירה keshira, to tie the knot. The ספר מגיד ישועות מלכו Sefer Magid Yeshuos Malko says from the פסוק pasuk and it's an acronym, you got to break through a metal door. And the the the עם הארץ am ha'aretz, the עולם olam says it's an acronym for שקר דובר כסף נוטל sheker dover kesef notel, the work of every good שדכן shadchan. Is there a value to being a שדכן shadchan for a non-Jew? You know two non-Jews, you're going to make a שדך shidduch between them? Is there a value? The חבר יאר Chavas Yair, רבי יאיר בכרך Rav Yair Bachrach who was asked this שאלה shaila, שדכנות לנכרים shadchanus l'nochrim? שדכנות לנכרים Shadchanus l'nochrim? I know a couple, the opposite. I know a couple, I used to babysit for their children. They were set up from two Asian people who were friends and worked in separate companies and they each knew these two Orthodox Jews. And they said, I know an Orthodox Jew. I know an Orthodox Jew. And they set up this, those two non-Jews set up the two Orthodox Jews they knew, ברוך השם Baruch Hashem. הרבה שלוחים למקום Harbei shluchim la'Makom. I don't know if they got שדכנות shadchanus, that's a שאלה shaila. Do you have to give שדכנות shadchanus to a נכרי nochri? That's a שאלה shaila. But what about the opposite? Should you set up non-Jews? So the חבר יאר Chavas Yair writes, המזווג בגוים אין איסור ha'mezaveg b'goyim ein issur. ומי לנו גדול מהרמב\"ם, שאסור לגוי רפואה שתלד כמו שכתב הרשב\"א u'mi lanu gadol me'ha'Rambam, she'asur l'goy refuah she'teiled k'mo she'kasav ha'Rashba. We know the רמב\"ם Rambam, who used his powers to help a non-Jew who was struggling with infertility have a child. The רשב\"א Rashba quotes that the רמב\"ם Rambam did, if the רמב\"ם Rambam thought that was a good use of his time, then it's a good use of our time to also make שדכים shidduchim among non-Jews. מכל מקום קיבלתי מגדולם ומזקינינו, כי מסוכן לעסוק באלה, פן יצאו נאקי מזריע שמקדיח תבשילו Mi'kol makom kibalti mi'gedolav u'mi'zkeineinu, ki mesukan l'asok b'eileh, pen yatz'u na'aki mi'zarei'a she'makdiach tavshilo. However, he quotes from holy sources that maybe it's not the best way to use your time. So he asks רבי חיים קניבסקי זצ\"ל Rav Chaim Kanievsky zatzal whose יורצייט yahrzeit is coming up this week. הי מותר להיות שדכן לזוג חילונים Hai mutar l'hiyos shadchan l'zug chilonim? Can you be a שדכן shadchan for two non-religious, non-observant? What's the question? They're Jews. Why wouldn't you want to? What's the question? They're not going to observe טהרת משפחה taharas hamishpacha. So maybe נידה niddah is an איסור כרת issur kares, a very severe prohibition. If you're going to introduce them and they're going to have a union and they're not going to observe the laws of family purity, טהרת משפחה taharas hamishpacha, maybe it's a disservice. So רבי חיים Rav Chaim answered, it's not אסור assur, but maybe it's not a good idea. Not אסור assur, still Jewish people, you want to introduce them, introduce them and encourage them to keep טהרת משפחה taharas hamishpacha. If you didn't listen to last week's Behind the Bima, you have to. רב אורי טייגער Rav Uri Tieger was a, grew up as a secular Jew in Tel Aviv. Going to the public pool on שבת Shabbos, watching TV, he told us addicted to television on שבת Shabbos. And then he became a חברותא chavrusah of רב חיים Rav Chaim, he was the editor of the last of the ספרים sfarim of רב חיים Rav Chaim for the last 20 years. How did he go from the the kid being מחלל שבת mechalel Shabbos in Tel Aviv to רב חיים's Rav Chaim's חברותא chavrusah? Listen to Behind the Bima. It's an amazing, amazing story. Honor רב חיים Rav Chaim on his יורצייט yahrzeit by listening to to his story. It's really, really fascinating. So משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu was the, was the שדכן shadchan, the first שדכן shadchan. Okay, we're moving backwards in the פרשה parsha. פרק ל\"ד, פסוק ז Perek Lamed Daled, Pasuk Zayin. So after the חטא העגל cheit ha'eigel, משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu davens to Hashem. And he introduces the י\"ג מדות yud gimmel middos, what we use ourselves. We said them this morning in סליחות Slichos. We said them this morning in the סליחות Slichos of a תענית taanis of תענית אסתר Taanis Esther. So, that's the formula. And we know with this formula, it's the winning formula. Hashem says if you say this formula, I can't help but forgive. And in the formula, we have ונקה לא ינקה v'nakeh lo yenakeh. What does that mean? We describe Hashem, נושא חסד לאלפים נושא עון ופשע וחטאה ונקה לא ינקה nosei chesed la'alafim, nosei avon vafesha v'chata'ah, v'nakeh lo yenakeh. Preserver of kindness, thousands of generations, forgiver of sins of iniquity, willful sin and error, ונקה לא ינקה v'nakeh lo yenakeh, and who cleanses, but does not cleanse completely. You've heard those words, you've said those words a million times. What do they mean? ונקה לא ינקה V'nakeh lo yenakeh. So רב וולבה Rav Wolbe, the הילגר רב וולבה Hilliger Rav Wolbe in his עלי שור חלק א Alei Shur Chelek Aleph, he says the last of the י\"ג מדות yud gimmel middos, ונקה לא ינקה v'nakeh lo yenakeh. You just said them this morning. We say them every Monday or fast day, we say them throughout the days of סליחות Slichos, עשרת ימי תשובה Aseres Yemei Teshuvah, all the way through נעילה Neilah, יום כיפור Yom Kippur. So might as well, this is a little bonus סידור siddur snippet. A תענית taanis סידור siddur snippet, סליחות Slichos סידור siddur snippet. ונקה לא ינקה V'nakeh lo yenakeh. What does that mean? The little translation is he cleanses, but not completely. It's obscure. What does that mean? So the תרגום Targum adds a few words to elucidate. The תרגום Targum says, he cleanses those who return to the Torah and does not cleanse those who do not return to the Torah. That's why I brought the תרגום Targum. The תרגום Targum says, ולכל דיסבין לאורייתא, ודלא יסבין לא מנקה חובוי u'l'chol d'yasvin l'oraysa, v'd'lo yasvin lo menakei masar chovei. He cleanses those who return, does not those who don't. The תרגום Targum introduces, says רב וולבה Rav Wolbe, to a new way of understanding the concept of תשובה teshuvah. The prevalent, the usual custom, the usual way to understand תשובה teshuvah is that what? That you return to the Torah. You return to Hashem, rather. What's תשובה teshuvah? The root of the word תשובה teshuvah is לשוב lashuv, to return. To whom are you returning? To Hashem. What's the תרגום Targum saying? What are you returning to? Torah. Because how did you get so far away from Hashem? Because you became distanced to his Torah. If you skip a day and you don't learn Torah, you can't go three days without drinking water, you can't go three days without learning Torah, you can't go a day without learning Torah. Torah is, כי הם חיינו ואורך ימינו ki heim chayeinu v'orech yameinu, it's our life. It's what gives us that radiance, that light. It's what makes us a בן ben or a בת תורה bas Torah. ובתורתו יהגה u'v'soraso yehge, it becomes ours, it's our nourishment, it's our nutrition. So you see, what is the source of תשובה teshuvah, is not לשוב להשם lashuv l'Hashem, it's not returning to Hashem, but it's returning to his instruction manual. It's returning to his formula. It's returning to his prescription for life, and then we'll find him. Where else do we see this? You said it also this morning. Where else do we see it? You'll say it again this afternoon, and again tonight. השיבנו אבינו Hashiveinu Avinu, לתורתך l'Sorasecha. The ברכה bracha of תשובה teshuvah, השיבנו אבינו Hashiveinu Avinu, is not bring us close to you, what's it bring us close to? Your Torah. השיבנו אבינו לתורתך Hashiveinu Avinu l'Sorasecha. You see that where do עבירות aveiros come from? The mistakes, the miscalculations, the poor judgment, the indiscretions, the errors, where does it all come from? It comes, of course, from not feeling the presence of Hashem. A person only sins because נכנס בו רוח שטות nichnas bo ruach shtus, foolishly, they forget that there's a God. But where does it come from? From a failure, a laxity in learning Torah. If Torah were informing and inspiring our life, if we were connected and מקושר mekushar to Torah, then we would feel connected to Hashem. When a person doesn't have Torah in their life, חבר'ה chevreh, I can't tell you how much I've seen this. I can't tell you how much I've seen this. People who have acted out in ways that are at times irreparable, that are devastating, to themselves and to people around them. It's because they're not connected to Torah. You could check off a lot of boxes. You could daven daily with a minyan, you could give tzedakah, you could go through a lot of motions on the outside, but if you're not engaged in Torah learning, and I'll go further, you can't just be engaged in Torah learning, coming back to what we said before, but we didn't really say it because we want to use it sometime in the future. You can't just be connected to Torah learning for information, you have to be connected to Torah learning for transformation. You know how many people who learn the דף יומי Daf Yomi for information? They learn the דף יומי Daf Yomi to put a check next to the דף daf. I did the דף daf, today's דף daf. Now I can go on to the fun things of life. I did the דף daf, I'm good to go. If you learn the דף daf for information, you could go from the דף daf to looking at things on the internet you shouldn't look at. You could go from the דף daf to doing things in business you shouldn't be doing. You could go from the דף daf, because if you're learning for information, not for transformation, you can go from there to terrible mistakes. השיבנו אבינו Hashiveinu Avinu to what? לתורתך l'Sorasecha. If we're מקושר mekushar, if we're connected to learning every day, to what it does, what it nourishes our נשמה neshama, what it does to bring us alive, that's what will calibrate our compass to make the right choices and to send us in the right direction. So ונקה לא ינקה v'nakeh lo yenakeh, you have to remember always when you say the תרגום Targum. ונקה לא ינקה V'nakeh lo yenakeh means for those who learn Torah, he forgives, those who don't learn Torah, you haven't really come back. The litmus test, the metric, the measure, have you returned, have you done תשובה teshuvah, is are you learning Torah. If the period of a ימים נוראים Yomim Noraim passes and you're not learning more Torah, you haven't really done תשובה teshuvah. תענית אסתר Taanis Esther, any other minor fast day, where we're supposed to return and passed, and we haven't expanded our Torah learning, take on another שיעור shiur, take on one more page, take on five more minutes, take on another חברותא chavrusah, take on, if you haven't taken something else on, תשובה teshuvah is not to return to Hashem, it's to return to his Torah, because the path to return to him is specifically how? Through his, through his Torah. Okay, still going backwards. Hope you're not dizzy yet. We're going backwards this week at the Parsha Perspective shiur. Next. So, פרק ל\"ד פסוק א Perek Lamed Daled, Pasuk Aleph. פסל לך Psal lecha. Hashem says to Moshe, פסל לך שני לוחות אבנים כראשונים Psal lecha shnei luchos avanim karishonim, I want you to engrave for yourself. Fundamental difference between the first לוחות luchos and second לוחות luchos. First לוחות luchos were fashioned and made by whom? Hashem. They were miraculous. The מם mem, סופית sofis and the סמך samech which are engraved all the way around, and what's in the middle should fall right out, it was suspended in place. It read the same from every side, every direction. Kind of a miracle is that? Who needs that miracle? Saw a very interesting insight. Who needs that miracle that it reads the same from every direction? Why is that a miracle? So, we said this. The שיחה עליון Sichah Elyon, the ספר שיחה עליון Sefer Sichah Elyon. רש\"י Rashi says משני עבריהם היו האותיות נקראות מעשה נסים היה mishnei evreihem hayu ha'osiyos nikra'os, ma'aseh nissim hayah. If we were to write something, you can't read the same on both sides, it would be backwards on the other side. The miracle of the first לוחות luchos, it read the same from every side. That's a נס nes? That's worth Hashem doing a miracle? It's impressive, it's cool, you could sell it on eBay. What's so special? That's worth a miracle? So he says a great פשט pshat. He says, you know, maybe you'll say I can only read the Torah when you're in front of Torah. The תלמידי חכמים talmidei chachamim, the righteous who read the Torah from the front, who have a good seat, who have direct access, they can get its message. Me, I'm behind. I'm behind the Torah. I'm out of, I can't see. I'm in the nosebleed sections. The way I live my life, no. The Torah is accessible from every direction. Doesn't matter where you are, how far you think you've fallen, where your place is in this world, wherever you are, you have access, you could read the Torah from every side, from every perspective, from every direction. It's a very important message to remember. So the first לוחות luchos were miraculous, the second לוחות luchos were, who engraved them? Hashem. Which one lasted and which one didn't? The second ones lasted. Why? Because you see the ones that have our toil, the ones that have our effort, those are the miracle, those are the ones that last. But the ones that are gifted to us, they disappeared. Torah, the בית הלוי Beis Halevi has a דרוש drush. The בית הלוי Beis Halevi writes that you see the second לוחות luchos were holier because they take on עמל amalus, they take effort. That's why the בריסקרס Briskers don't serve ארבעס arbis at a שלום זכר Shalom Zachar. בריסקרס Briskers don't serve chickpeas at a שלום זכר Shalom Zachar. Where did the מנהג minhag come from to have chickpeas at a שלום זכר Shalom Zachar? They're round, it's a sign of אבלות avelus. The baby is mourning that they learned the whole Torah in the womb with the מלאך malach, and then they were tapped on the lip, they were caused to forget the whole Torah, and in the sense of loss and mourning for the loss of all the Torah they learned, we serve ארבעס arbis, the sign of mourning like a lentil, like an egg, the roundness of the chickpeas at a שלום זכר Shalom Zachar. Can't serve חומוס hummus, it's gotta be the round chickpea. Once it's חומוס hummus, maybe it tastes better but it's not a round chickpea anymore. So בריסקרס Briskers don't, the רב's, they said the מנהג minhag was not to. Why? He said because you're not mourning. We're not sad they were caused to forget because that's our mission. Our job is to be עמל amal. Our job is to be ממית עצמו m'meimas atzmo. Our job is to study, to learn, to toil Torah, to kill ourselves on Torah. It was spoon-fed in the womb, that's not lasting. It's what we work hard on, it's what we make an effort in, that's what's lasting, and that's not what we mourn over. I'll tell you an amazing נצי\"ב Netziv. The נצי\"ב Netziv in his העמק דבר Ha'amek Davar says a דבר נפלא davar nifla. A few months ago, נצי\"ב Netziv doesn't say this, a few months ago, Artscroll had an extraordinary סיום siyum. They completed the ש\"ס שטיינזלץ Shas Steinsaltz translation of תלמוד ירושלמי Talmud Yerushalmi. It was a very, very, very long process. And at the Doral, they had a, we had a hurricane, it happened during the hurricane, but it didn't miss a beat, everybody somehow flew in, they were there, it was fantastic. Remember a few months ago we had a quasi-hurricane? It was an amazing event. Super beautiful event. In fact, Mrs. Schottenstein's mother who who was alive and well, it the the event was on קריסטל נכט Kristallnacht. That's when they had it at the Doral. They told the story, she lived in Germany and from her window across the street, she saw a שול shul, and she watched ספרים sfarim be burned on קריסטל נכט Kristallnacht. And now, on the anniversary of קריסטל נכט Kristallnacht, her family had sponsored the translation and making accessible the תלמוד ירושלמי Talmud Yerushalmi that had been closed for so many generations. Amazing, amazing event. extraordinary accomplishment and achievement, what Artscroll has done for Torah learning, my friend Rav Gedaliah Zlotowitz, his father, all of his family, what they've done for Torah learning, Schottenstein family and all those who give, absolutely unbelievable. So we're sitting there and they're extolling the virtues of the ירושלמי Yerushalmi and they're showing these moving videos, and we're crying and and um, יעקב שוואקי Yaakov Shwekey is singing, it was an amazing event. And turns to me and she says, נו nu? I said what? She said, are you starting your ירושלמי Yerushalmi? I said, ירושלמי Yerushalmi. I don't know בבלי Bavli. I'm not starting, she said, but they're talking all about your ירושלמי Yerushalmi. You have to start your ירושלמי Yerushalmi. There's ירושלמי יומי Yerushalmi Yomi, and now it's translated Artscroll, no excuse, they completed the whole ירושלמי Yerushalmi. So she looked at me like, נו nu, you nothing, גורנישט gornisht, nobody, are you gonna are you gonna start the ירושלמי Yerushalmi? So for a little time, I felt a little guilty. Maybe we should do ירושלמי Yerushalmi. It's a new cycle of ירושלמי יומי Yerushalmi Yomi, and ירושלמי Yerushalmi Artscroll, maybe we should learn the ירושלמי Yerushalmi. We started in our שול shul, the Reichenbergs in memory of their son Corey, עליו השלום alav hashalom, very special young man, tragically passed away last year. They dedicated every night, Stuart Silverman, it wasn't enough that he voluntarily teaches the דף בבלי Daf Bavli every night, now he also teaches the דף ירושלמי Daf Yerushalmi every night, Stuart Silverman, unbelievable. So we have a ירושלמי יומי Yerushalmi Yomi, we have three בבלי דפים Bavli Dafim a day, we only have one ירושלמי דף Yerushalmi Daf a day so far at BRS. Who knows, maybe we'll get there. I don't go. I don't learn it. Why not? Listen to the נצי\"ב Netziv. התלמוד ירושלמי ותלמוד בבלי הם בבחינת לוחות ראשונות ולוחות שניות, וכמו שהלוחות שניות היו חשובים יותר מהראשונות, כמו כן, כחו של תלמוד בבלי גדול כחו של תלמוד ירושלמי, שיש לתלמוד בבלי כח נפלא להורות הלכה אף בזמן שהיו יושבים במחשקים בבבל ובחוץ לארץ שאין בו אור הארץ הקדושה. דלולי כח התלמוד בבלי לא היה אפשר להגיע שום שם אור ההוראה. Ha'Talmud Yerushalmi v'Talmud Bavli heim b'vchinas Luchos Rishonos v'Luchos Shniyos, u'k'mo she'ha'Luchos Shniyos hayu chashuvim yoser min ha'Rishonos, k'mo chein, kocho shel Talmud Bavli gadol kocho shel Talmud Yerushalmi. She'yeish l'Talmud Bavli koach nifla l'horos halacha af b'zman she'hayu yoshvim b'machshakim b'Bavel u'v'chutz la'aretz she'ein bo or ha'aretz ha'kdosha. D'lulei koach ha'Talmud Bavli lo hayah efshar l'hagia shum sham or ha'hora'ah. Says the ירושלמי Yerushalmi written in ירושלים ארץ ישראל Yerushalayim Eretz Yisrael, ירושלמי Yerushalmi is like the first לוחות luchos. The תלמוד בבלי Talmud Bavli is like the second לוחות luchos. The second לוחות luchos had the staying power. The בבלי Bavli is what's authoritative. The בבלי Bavli is what's binding. The בבלי Bavli is what we have to learn. And then I asked several גדולי ישראל gedolei Yisrael, do they learn בבלי Bavli, I won't use their names because I don't have their permission, do they learn ירושלמי Yerushalmi? Happens to be Rabbi Asher Weiss told me, he finishes ש״ס Shas every year, he alternates years בבלי Bavli, ירושלמי Yerushalmi. I said, Rabbi, when do you finish ש״ס Shas every year? The שיעורים shiurim, the learning. He said, I don't have time to learn during the week. During the week I give שיעורים shiurim and I write. I learn 50 בלאט א שבת blatt a Shabbos. So he learns 50 בלאט א שבת blatt a Shabbos and then finishes ש״ס Shas every year, alternates years בבלי Bavli and ירושלמי Yerushalmi. But other major גדולי ישראל gedolei Yisrael I asked, feeling guilty, should I be learning, should it be an aspiration ירושלמי Yerushalmi too? And many said our מסורה mesorah is בבלי Bavli. Many great רבנים rabbonim, you know what ירושלמי Yerushalmi they know? Whatever תוספות Tosafos quotes from the ירושלמי Yerushalmi, those are the ירושלמי Yerushalmis they know. Other than that, it's not necessarily, nothing wrong with it, those who've taken it on, it's beautiful, it's incredible. תבוא עליכם ברכה tavo aleichem bracha. But I was very relieved to see this נצי״ב Netziv, don't feel bad or guilty. Tell יוכבד Yocheved on the נצי״ב Netziv. Don't feel bad or guilty if you've not yet taken on the ירושלמי Yerushalmi, you don't have to beat yourself up. The נצי״ב Netziv says it as the לוחות שניות luchos shniyos. But as usual we didn't get to 90% of what I wanted to share but I'll end with this.What was another difference between the about the first לוחות luchos and the second לוחות luchos? What happened to the first לוחות luchos? Smashed, smithereens, broken into shards and pieces. They were kept in the ארון aron by the way, לוחות ושברי לוחות מונחים בארון luchos v'shivrei luchos munachim ba'aron. It's a big lesson there about we hold on to the broken pieces of life, we don't discard them. We learn a lot and we grew a lot from the broken pieces. We hold on to the brokenness. We don't discard it. It's a big lesson there. But it was broken, it was smashed. What endured? It still extant, even if it's buried underneath the הר הבית Har Habayis. But what still exists? The לוחות שניות luchos shniyos. Why? So רש״י Rashi quotes and tells us, how were the first לוחות luchos given? First לוחות luchos were given בפומבי b'pumbei, in public. Pomp and circumstance and fanfare and fair, it was streamed live around the world. All eyes were on it. Millions and billions and trillions of views. And when something has that, you know what it has? An עין הרע ayin hara. And therefore it got smashed. But the second לוחות luchos were given privately. And that which is done סמוי מן העין sumui min ha'ayin, אין הברכה שרויה אלא בדבר הסמוי מן העין ein habracha shruya ela b'davar hasamui min ha'ayin. Only things that are hidden from the eye, that's what endures and that's what lasts. דבר הסמוי מן העין Davar hasamui min ha'ayin.I'll get in trouble but I'll say it anyway because I already said one story about יוכבד Yocheved, I'll tell you a second. We went out and we were going to get engaged and then we broke up for a little bit. We broke up for a little bit. We'll leave the circumstances out. We got back together. And she deserves the credit. When we got back together she said let's not tell anybody. Let's not go out in public places. Let's get back together because אין הברכה, אין הברכה שרויה אלא בדבר הסמוי מן העין ein habracha, ein habracha shruya ela b'davar hasamui min ha'ayin. It was her genius and wisdom. She deserves all the credit and the שדכנות shadchanus for bringing us back together. אין הברכה שרויה אלא בדבר הסמוי מן העין Ein habracha shruya ela b'davar hasamui min ha'ayin. And that's what we did. My sister was living in the States at the time so we baby sat her kid, you go out, we left the door open, there was no ייחוד yichud don't worry. But let's baby sit. We figured out ways to get back together but סמוי מן העין sumui min ha'ayin. If the whole world knows about something and the whole world has an opinion about something and the whole world is weighing in on something, the עין הרע שולטת ayin hara sholeit, it's very hard for it to exist. So that's from this פרשה parsha. רש״י Rashi in our פרשה parsha, the מדרש Midrash in our פרשה parsha, מדרש תנחומא Midrash Tanchuma. למה נשתברו לוחות הראשונות, שניתנו בפומבי Lama nishtabru luchos harishonos, shenitnu b'pumbei. Because they were given in public, they had an עין הרע ayin hara, they were smashed. Second לוחות luchos were in private. Be careful what you publicize, what you celebrate, what you draw enormous attention to. So based on this, we'll end with this, the אוצר פלאות התורה Otzar Pleos HaTorah says how should you have הכנסת ספר תורה hachnasas Sefer Torah? The ספר תורה Sefer Torah today is our לוחות luchos. Should you make it, oh, a שמעק געוואלדיק shmeck gevaldik, huge, all attention, incredible delicacies, bands, symphonies, choirs, sound and light show, streaming? How should you do it? The חתם סופר Chasam Sofer said, כשקיים מצוות עשה של ועתה כתבו לכם, הכניס ספר תורה לבית המדרש, הכניסו בצנעא ולא בפומבי k'shekiyaim mitzvas aseh shel v'atah kisvu lachem, hichnis Sefer Torah l'beis hamedrash, hichnisu b'tzina v'lo b'pumbei. חתם סופר Chasam Sofer snuck his ספר תורה Sefer Torah into his שול shul. He didn't make a big הכנסת ספר תורה hachnasas Sefer Torah. He said you saw what happened to the לוחות luchos when they were done in public. We're going to have a very quiet, a very modest, a very private הכנסת ספר תורה hachnasas Sefer Torah. לוחות ראשונות luchos rishonos. And he brought this down as the reason. בגופה אידך של תלמיד חתם סופר b'gufa idach shel talmid Chasam Sofer, יש לו אבל מה שכתב חתם סופר עצמו yesh lo, aval ma shekasav Chasam Sofer atzmo. However, this is what's said, a testimony about the חתם סופר Chasam Sofer. That's what's written about him, that that's how he gave it. However, however, the חתם סופר Chasam Sofer himself in his דרשות drashos, חלק ב׳ chelek beis, המטריח עצמו לזהור לוולד לכתוב ספר תורה ועושה פומבי גדול, זה סימן מובהק שהוא ירא השם hamatriach atzmo l'zhor l'valad l'chtov Sefer Torah v'oseh pumbei gadol, zeh siman muvhak she'hu yarei Hashem. He writes that a person who doesn't buy the cheap, inexpensive version of a ספר תורה Sefer Torah, he hires the best סופר sofer and invests in the best ספר תורה Sefer Torah and makes the most extravagant, beautiful הכנסת ספר תורה hachnasas Sefer Torah, that's a sign the person is a ירא השם yarei Hashem and they have אהבת השם ahavas Hashem, they love Hashem. So which is it? Is it חתם סופר Chasam Sofer endorsing doing it publicly or did he do it privately and modestly? צריך עיון tzarich iyun. says the אוצר פלאות התורה Otzar Pleos HaTorah, there's a סתירה stira between what's reported about him and what he endorsed in his writings, in his דרשות drashos, for others. Now the מנהג ישראל minhag Yisrael is to do ברוב עם הדרת מלך b'rov am hadras melech. We do it big with a lot of music and a lot of fun in a big way and he quotes many sources that endorse that. So a person shouldn't feel guilty if you ever had a הכנסת ספר תורה hachnasas Sefer Torah and you did it publicly, as long as you make it about the Torah, not about you. Is it about you or is it about the Torah? You know, they they have, להבדיל אלף הבדלות l'havdil elef havdalos, again. Is it about is it about the logo on the front of the jersey or your name on the back of the jersey? Do you play for the name on the back of your jersey or do you play for the logo on the front? So some people, you know, on the מנטל mantel of the ספר תורה Sefer Torah, what are the big letters? Your name or the ספר תורה Sefer Torah? Does the name go on the back of the מנטל mantel, on the bottom, you know, it was donated by so and so and so and so, or is the name in lights that every time the ארון aron's opened, in huge font, who donated the Torah? So if the if the הכנסת ספר תורה hachnasas Sefer Torah is all about you, your name in lights, then maybe better to give it בצנעא b'tzina. But if you're doing it to celebrate a new Torah, so then you could do it בפומבי b'pumbei, then it can be done publicly. Left a lot out.I'll just tell you, he quotes incredible things in here. When it says ויקהל העם על אהרן vayikahel ha'am al Aharon, that Aharon got involved in the חטא העגל chet ha'egel, he quotes in here it was a different Aharon. Do you know there are ראשונים Rishonim that say it was not אהרן הכהן Aharon HaKohen? It was a different Aharon. Never heard that in my life. Unbelievable. I guess we'll save it all for next year. He quotes in here that משה Moshe tried to Moshe wanted to kill Aharon for what he did. If you assume it was the real Aharon, Moshe wanted to kill Aharon. Unbelievable. Every year you learn the פרשה parsha there's new things in it. Have a meaningful fast, an easy fast, a happy fast. And you'll be happy in this fast. לך כנוס כל היהודים lech knos kol hayehudim. Go, all the Jewish people join the BRS Global community with אחדות achdus, be united and one. If you've not done your part, please, brsonline.org/global. I don't know how you enjoy the שיעור shiur and benefit from it and from all the Torah sources we've quoted and not do your part. So please do your part. brsonline.org/global. א פרייליכן פורים A freilichen Purim. should be a fantastic Purim. We should all have personal and collective
